Early Grand Slam Too Much to Overcome in Rangers' Loss to A's
ARLINGTON, Texas — The grand slam has hurt the Texas Rangers this season. Whether it be the sheer number of them or the fallout of one making the franchise the butt end of every joke on social media, it's been a major issue in 2020.
On Friday night, Rangers opener Luis García walked the first three batters of the game, then put a pitch on a tee for Oakland A's first baseman Matt Olson. Just like that, the Rangers were down 4-0 before an out was recorded in the game.
As good as García was as Lyles' opener previously, he struggled mightily with his command on Friday.
"We'll talk to him, if Julio [Rangel] hasn't already," Rangers manager Chris Woodward said. "You see a lot of glove-side misses. He was kind of doing that the other day. I know they talked about some mechanical stuff to align him and get him down the mound straight. It's frustrating because Luis' been good for us, but today ... not great."
Jordan Lyles had his own issues as well, but was able to give the Rangers seven innings out of the bullpen—the longest relief outing for the Rangers since Dustin Nippert pitched seven innings out of the bullpen in 2008.
"It was huge," Woodward said. "I was going to take him out, but he asked to go back out which saved out butt from a bullpen standpoint."
The Rangers have allowed seven grand slams this season. What's remarkable about it is they've only played 44 games. The Major League record for most grand slams given up in a season is 14 by the Detroit Tigers in 1996, but that was obviously in a typical 162-game season. The pace at which the Rangers are allowing grand slams is unprecedented.
Despite the uphill battle the Rangers fought all night, there was a significant amount of intrigue in top catching prospect Sam Huff making his Major League debut. It was not the soft landing Chris Woodward would have initially hoped for. Huff had to deal with the pitching catastrophe at the beginning of the game. He was also held hitless, but did earn the first free pass of his career.
Huff's first look at Major League pitching definitely stood out to him in his debut.
"It was definitely different than what I'm used to," Huff explained. "First at-bat in a place, I'm (used to) getting fastballs. Instead, I'm getting front-hip sliders and curveballs. But after that, I kind of got the idea that they understand you as a power hitter and you have to stay in the zone. My first at-bat I couldn’t even really feel my bat, but by the second I had a better feel for everything."
The Rangers will play a doubleheader against the A's on Saturday with the first game beginning at 4:05 p.m. CT. Nick Goody will be the opener for the Rangers ahead of Wes Benjamin in game one. Kolby Allard will start game two for Texas.
In 2020, all games that are part of a doubleheader are seven innings.
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